Gonzaga has its sights on qualifying for its 10th consecutive Sweet 16 berth.
Standing in the way is Houston, one of the favorites of the entire tournament.
Two of the better programs in the land will throw haymakers at one another Saturday when the top-seeded Cougars battle the No. 8 Bulldogs in Midwest Region second-round play at Wichita, Kan.
Houston (31-4) has its own run going as it’s looking to reach the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight time. The Cougars reached the Final Four (2021) and Elite Eight (2022) during the stretch.
Houston has won its past 14 games and 27 of its last 28 and is on the short list of teams capable of winning the tournament.
“For us, it’s just about playing to our standards,” Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We have standards. I’m not into prognosticating. I know this time of year, the toughest teams are the ones that play up to their identity. Those are the teams that have the best chance so we’re just going to keep doing that.”
The Cougars rolled to an easy 78-40 victory over 16th-seeded SIU Edwardsville in Thursday’s first-round game. Gonzaga was highly impressive in its first-round match by pounding Georgia 89-68. Gonzaga led 27-3 before most people could find their seats.
The Bulldogs (26-8) played in just one NCAA Tournament game prior to 1999 and now they pack a constant presence with 26 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
During the Sweet 16 streak, the Bulldogs twice played in the national championship game (2017, 2021) and reached the Elite Eight three other times (2015, 2019 and 2023).
Bulldogs coach Mark Few said the people playing the game make more of an impact than he does.
“It starts with having great players,” Few said. “We’ve had an incredible run of great players and the best thing when you get players at Gonzaga, they’re coachable. They listen because they understand that if everybody is on the same page, it really leads to winning, and that’s why they came to GU in the first place.”
Gonzaga has its lowest seed since 2016, and Few allowed early in the week that there were moments when he wasn’t sure if the tournament streak would continue.
But the Zags got hot and have won five straight and 12 of 14 entering this contest, which has the feel of an Elite Eight pairing.
“I think that early in the year, (the Zags) just lost some heartbreakers in close games,” Sampson said. “They were really similar to us. It’s not that they were ever out of the fight in any game they played. They just didn’t maybe close out some games which Gonzaga typically closes out.”
“Which is why they’re an eight seed, not a two or a three seed. Which is what the metrics tell you they should be.”
Khalif Battle recorded 24 points and eight rebounds, Braden Huff added 18 points and eight rebounds and Nolan Hickman made five treys while scoring 18 points in Gonzaga’s onslaught of Georgia. The Zags knocked down 12 of 20 3-point attempts.
Battle is with his fourth team in six seasons, and he said his last move was his best.
“To be dancing and to be with these guys is special,” said Battle, “and I would run through a wall for them any day, even after I have the jersey on.”
Houston cruised against Edwardsville and led 21-6 before the game was eight minutes old. Milos Uzan scored 16 points to lead the Cougars.
Now Gonzaga will try to slow the Houston assault.
“We’ve got a huge challenge coming down the pipes here,” Few said of Houston. “We’re playing a great team and a great program — much like ourselves — in this next game.”
This is the first matchup between the two programs.
–Field Level Media
